The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business

Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

TEN aspiring financial services professionals from the College of the Bahamas (COB) will be awarded a paid internship at this year’s Nassau Conference, according to organizers, a move designed to lay the groundwork for giving them industry exposure.
 The Nassau Conference 2012 will be held on October 10, 2012, at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel under the theme ‘Preparing Ourselves in a Global Context with a Regional Focus’. The conference is now in its seventh year.

Jean-Marc Fellay, Association of International Banks and Trusts (AIBT) chairman, said: “AIBT is proud to be the founding partner and organizer of the seventh annual Nassau Conference. The Nassau Conference seeks to provide the financial services industry with an affordable, world-class professional development and working experience.

“The Nassau Conference has always sponsored the participation of College of the Bahamas students. This year, in conjunction with the Ministry of Financial Services, the engagement with COB students will be extended further.”

Last year, the Conference attracted about 220 delegates, and this year officials hope to exceed that.
 Financial Services minister Ryan Pinder said: “Part of our mandate in the ministry is to encourage the promotion and development of the financial services industry, and part of that is presenting educational and technical opportunities for the practitioners in our financial services industr.

“This is something in which the Nassau Conference plays a vital role. As we go out in the international community, it is important that all our domestic practitioners our banking institutions, our attorneys and all other practitioners receive the necessary knowledge, information and exposure.”

He added: “Part of the Government’s mandate is to double the investment in education and training, and one of the components of that is also the internship program methat we have added on to the sponsorship.

“Not only will the select students receive expose to the financial services industry through the conference, they will now have an opportunity for a summer internship programme that is married to the sponsorship. They will have summer internships within the various international cooperating banking institutions. This provides the opportunity for hands-on training of aspiring Bahamian financial services professionals who are going to school at the College of the Bahamas.

“We are looking at a slot of 10 aspiring professionals from the College of the Bahamas to be a part of that. You really want to give the exposure to those who aspire to be in the industry. This is the groundwork; this is the first year we have agreed to do this”.